Melina Abdullah (Pan-African Studies) was presented the Lois Tinson Human Rights Award by the California Faculty Association during the California Teachers Association's Equity and Human Rights Conference, 2016.
Joanne Altschuler (Social Work), faculty advisor for Tau Eta, Cal State LA’s chapter of Phi Alpha Honor Society for Social Work, was selected as Phi Alpha’s Advisor of the Year. She was honored at Phi Alpha’s International Meeting and Poster Board Presentation during the 62nd Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in Atlanta, GA, Nov. 4, 2016.
Domnita Dumitrescu (Emerita, Modern Languages and Literatures) was appointed to the Inter-academic Commission for the 24th edition of the Dictionary of the Spanish Language, as representative of the North American Language and the Philippine Academies of the Spanish Language, 2016. She was also appointed as book/media review editor of Hispania, the scholarly journal of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, 2016, and to the editorial board of Language and Dialogue, a scholarly journal published by John Benjamins, 2016. She is a coopted member of the Inter-academic Commission for the Glossary of Grammatical Terms, 2016.
Stéfan Keslacy, Ray de Leon and Christine Dy (Kinesiology), Deborah Won (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Roxanna Pebdani (Special Education and Counseling) received a $600,000 grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research to examine the exercise needs of wheelchair users, 2017. The team will develop a mobile app that tracks muscle activity and provides feedback. They will also assess the impact of exercise on social participation and quality of life.
Nancy McQueen (Microbiology) was awarded a Clare Booth Luce Scholarship that provides full tuition, accommodations, meals and travel to women in STEM higher education to attend the 2017 HERS Institute at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania from July 9-22, 2017. McQueen will be part of the HERS Luce Program for Women in STEM Leadership.
Deborah L. Schaeffer (University Library) was selected as the recipient of the 2017 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award. A plaque will be presented to Schaeffer during an EBSS event at the 2017 American Library Association's Annual Conference in Chicago, July, 2017.
Patrick Sharp (Liberal Studies) won the Susan Koppelman Award for Best Anthology, Multi-Authored, or Edited Book in Feminist Studies in Popular Culture for his book, Sisters of Tomorrow: The First Women of Science Fiction, coauthored with Lisa Yaszek from Georgia Tech, April 12-15, 2017. The Susan Koppelman Award is given by the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association.
Angela Vergara (History) has received an award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in support of her book project, “Unemployment in Twentieth-Century Chile,” 2017.
Gay Yuen (Emerita, Education), left, was a recipient of Congresswoman Judy Chu’s Congressional Women of the Year Award. She represented the City of Monterey Park. The awards ceremony was held on April 8, 2016, and recognized outstanding women who have contributed greatly to Rep. Chu’s 27th Congressional District.
Cecilia I. Zurita-Lopez (Biochemistry) was named a 2017 Emerging Scholar by the magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Zurita-Lopez was featured in the Jan. 27, 2017 issue of Diverse, which highlights 12 minority scholars who are making their marks in academia and setting the standard for the next generation of leaders.